All Things Alicia

The 2009 Holiday Gift Giving Guide

Need gift suggestions?  Need to bling up the gifts you already know you're getting?  This year's gift giving guide has fabulous ideas and special deals.  When you order $50 or more from the guide, you get a discounted decor elements selection!  There are gift ideas for teens and younger kids as well as for paper crafters.  It's the one stop shop for Christmas this year!

You can see more projects and details on my website, under current promotions.  For now, here's a teaser:

 

	Merry treat box
	Stamps Berry Christmas stamp set Paper Treat boxes Ink Old Olive Stampin' Write marker Real Red Stampin' Write marker Accessories Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon Linen thread Stampin' Dimensionals 1/16" Circle punch

You can also download the Adobe pdf file Download Holiday_Extravaganza_GGG_US_1009

 

What's Easier Than Stamping A Silk Scarf?

How about just streaking one with an ink pad?

For this I just took a white craft pad and went direct to scarf.  I used a black scarf (obviously) and held down one end with a finger while I streaked the end of the ink pad down the length of the scarf.  I didn't worry about the places where the scarf bunched and rippled around the pressure of the pad because it gave a nice feathered look to it.  Viola!  Two minutes later, a scarf!  I wore it to my mom's group the next day and got many compliments, including questions about where I bought it. 

Don't forget two rules with scarf stamping: 1- Must use craft ink pad.  The classic pads fade.  2 - Must heat set with an iron.  That's it.

Here's another shot of it:

If you'd like to purchase craft pads (available in more than 48 colors) to make these, visit my website. 

New Deals of the Week

The party kits are on sale!  I LOVE these kits and am SO excited that they're on sale!  If you have a little kid's birthday coming up you'll want to buy these now.  I don't buy many things far in advance because I don't have a storage at my small house for things, but these adorable sets at these fabulous prices are worth finding space for!

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Special Price
116214	174	Princess Party Kit	$15.95	$9.99
116213	175	Pirate Party Kit	$15.95	$9.99

 

See some great project and picture of what they look like assembled on pages 174-175 of the current catalog.

Remember, you can only get them at this price until early Monday morning (November 2nd).  Buy them now at my Stampin' Up! Website! 

Christmas Ornament Card

I made this one a while ago.  I just haven't shared it  yet.  I think it's one of my favorites this year but I'm not sure I want to commit to it as "the card" I'm making for this year.

I did share how I get those perfect banner ends a few weeks ago.  I'm terrible at freehanding things that need to be symmetrical.  :)  I thought this card might be a cute idea because not only does it look like an ornament, it could actually become one!  I made it to be about 3 1/2" in diameter so it would fit perfectly in a little spot on a tree.

I used my circle scissor to make the concentric circles.  It's mounted on Night of Navy with Shimmery White for the tree circle.  I stamped the tree in black for that dark night shadow, but I used craft ink so I could then add irredescent ice embossing powder.  Then I sponged on some more navy and used the round tab punch for the top.

**Tip - attach the tab punch to the front and back of the card, not through it.  If you attach going through the layers of cardstock it won't be easy to open.

Stampin' Up! Deal of the Week - Great Embellishments!

I am so excited about this week's deal of the week!  These embellishment assortments are so fabulous!  I love and use them all!  I am using this sale to stock up.  I love these clips and brads because they are a great and economical way to step up any card or project.  I often use clips to attach little "to an from" cards to ribbon or a stamped image to a tag.  I love those grommets in the center of the new medallion stamp set too.  Brads are usable in so many ways I'd have to do a separate blog about that! 

Item	Description	Special Price
114348	Basic Jumbo grommets	$4.49
109857	Mini Library clips	$8.99
112571	Circle Designer brads	$3.99
112581	1/2" Library clips	$3.99

Grab these while they're available at these great prices!  You can shop at my website or contact me via the e-mail link in my sidebar.

Pumpkin Candle - Just a Little Gift

***I really haven't been trying to avoid my blog lately.  There's been a pluthora of problems around here from sickness to computer issues.  I've been having troubles with Typepad freezing my computer since it switched to the new version.  Today it's finally working so maybe (fingers crossed) there will be more to come.

My son is in preschool this year and his teacher (one of two) had a birthday this week.  Luckily, I recently found out that his teacher is also the mother of one of my mom's group firends.  So I was able to get the inside scoop on what she likes to make her a little something.  She like both pumpkins and candles so I combined the two and got her a pumpkin candle.  It's actually a 3 layer soy candle and each layer is a different type of pumpkin smell.  It was divine!  I just made a little wrap and topper for the candle.  Nothing fancy, just dressed it up a little.

I used the stamp set Autumn Harvest and decided I wanted Kraft and Really Rust to coordinate with the candle.  I wrapped the area where the cardstock overlapped with twine to hide it and add some interest.  I shredded the ends of the twine to give more texture to it and I really like that effect.  I think I'll play with that some more in future cards.

Four Upcoming Events - Two of them Free!

Hey Friends,

Just wanted to post a reminder/notification about the next few events I have coming up.  Here's the downlow:

Friday, September 25th is the scarves class.  We'll be stamping on silk scarves.  You'll leave with 4 of them made and an addiction to this easy process!  The cost is $25.  If you are a subscriber to my newsletter, you've received a $5 coupon for this.  If you're not a subscriber, you can become one by putting your e-mail into the box in the left column of my blog.  I still have room and supplies for 2 more people if you still want to register.  See my post a few days ago for a paypal button or just send me a check.  E-mail me at stampified@sbcglobal.net if you want to come.

The week of September 28th I'll be starting my 12 weeks of Christmas extravaganza.  This is free and you have to be a subscriber to my e-newsletter to get it.  I'll be sending out Christmas projects once a week with instructions.  You'll get card ideas, gift ideas, and gift bag/tag ideas.  These are all free as my Christmas gift to my blog readers/customers.

My Digital Studio presentation - October 6- Free!  Come to my house to learn about all the perks and how-to's of the fabulous new digital scrapbooking, cardmaking, calendar making, etc... software from Stampin' Up!  This is a presentation only, no make and take.  It will be an hour to an hour and a half.  I just need an RSVP by Saturday, October 3rd to make sure I set up for the right size audience.  E-mail me at stampified@sbcglobal to reserve your spot.

Holiday Stamp Camp - October 9th - $25 - We'll be making 2 fall projects and 2 Christmas projects.  There will snacks, door prizes, and everything you need to make the projects will be cut and prepped and ready for you to stamp and assemble while you're here.  Look for a registration form to come soon.  If you can't wait for a regitration form, just send me the money and I'll reserve your spot until the registration form is available.

An Anniversary Guest Book

My friend Heather threw a surprise anniversary party for her parents' 40th anniversary.  Her idea was to sort of recreate the original wedding.  She used the colors and made mongrammed wedding favors.  Super cute idea.  She asked me to come up with something in lieu of a guestbook, but really inexpensive.  Here's what I made for her:

I used the new FABULOUS bride specialty papers from Stampin' Up!  So easy to make things look classy!  Inside, the pages are made from 6x6 page protectors and simple, yet elegant stamped pages.

 

Sorry about the shadow on there.  It's really hard to see but the corner has a flourish stamped in grey from the Baroque Motifs set.  The papers are basic black and shimmery white.  It looks really classy in person, hard to get that from the photo.

I know what you're thinking, it looks like a scrapbook instead of a guest book, right?  Well, it's both.  Because this was an anniversary and celebration of 40 years of memories, Heather wanted more than just signatures.  She wanted something that added to the memories collected over the years and she wanted something that was more interesting to flip through in the future.  So she came up with this fabulous idea!  She made little cards with short prompts, like: "My favorite memory of _____ & _____ is ..." and "The funniest thing they ever did was...".  She made those cards and trimmed them down so they mat perfectly in those black photo mats I made.  At the party people go to choose which writing prompt they wanted and filled it out, put it in the book, and signed the mat. 

Keeping it simple helped keep the cost and time down.  This came together in a flash.  Yet it's not missing anything by way of classiness.

It would be great at a wedding too.  Have someone take pics of the guests and put their photos in there on the page they sign.  What a time capsule item that would be!

The cover is made with chipboard, covered with the bride papers.  I used the cropodile to easily punch through it and threaded ribbon through for the binding.  Covering chipboard is a great way to make a sturdy cover without the expense of an album.  And these papers combined with the organdy ribbon are sleek and elegant.

The recipe:

Baroque Motifs stamp set

Basic Black cardstock

Shimmery White cardstock

Gray ink

White Organza Ribbon

chipboard

6x6 page protectors

cropodile

*All of these items are available for purchase on my Stampin' Up! website.

Mini Scrapbooks With Night and Day Papers

**Scroll down to yesterday's post to see information about the upcoming scarf class.

I love these little books!  They make great gifts and, because they're black and white, they go with any occassion and can scrap both genders! 

I love the night and day papers in the new mini catalog.  I'm not a big Halloween fan, but these papers so go beyond they holiday.  They're pretty generic black and white, making them the greatest choice for Halloween (if you love it) because you will be able to use leftover pieces long after the holiday!

Black and white has always been one of my favorite color combos.  I know, you think it's bland, but I think it's versatile! 

I just got out my black and white cardstock and started cutting into regular card size.  The finished size of these are 5 1/2 x 4 1/4.  I scored 3/4" in from the edge and then started adding in the Night and Day Papers to make books.  The papers are so great they don't need many many embellishments.  I finished off the fronts with ribbon.  There was really no design work since all the papers coordinate.  I just mixed and matched and was happy with all of it.  Here are some more images of the insides:

 

One of the best parts is that you can make a ton of these with one pack of papers!  Here's what I used:

black cardstock (102851) 7.50

white cardstock (100730) 7.50

Night and Day Designer Series Paper (116768) 11.95

White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (108025) 4.95

black 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (109027)4.95

For $36.85 you get enough supplies to make at least 10 books with some supplies left over!  That's only  $3.69 per book!  5 - two page spreads fit in each one!

 

 

Silk Scarf Class Coming at the End of September!

I know you're thinking, "Silk scarves?  Is Alicia dabbling in the fashion industry now?"  No!  I have no fashion sense.  But we're going to stamp on them.  That's right, stamp!  I did this once several years ago and loved the effect.  You can actually make very classy, one of a kind, silk scarves with stamps. 

  

When you come to the class, you'll not only learn how to make them yourself, but you'll walk away with four fabulous scarves ready to give as gifts, or keep for your own wardrobe.

Details:

My house in Riverside, Ca - I'll e-mail you directions after you register.

Friday, September 25th, 6:30-9:30 pm.

$25 registration fee.  You can give me that via check or cash in person or paypal it to me at stampified@sbcglobal.net

or use the button below: